Friday, January 27, 2006

The Seducers: Every living creature is seducible. It's only a question of what it takes to seduce them. For some, it's food; for some, it's money; for others, it's fame; for some, it's flattery; for some, it's a combination of all these. The reason seduction is perceived to be a bad thing is because it is a generally accepted belief that those who seduce (hereafter know as The Seducers) are always up to no good. The fragmentation in our society is a direct result of every citizen in this country allowing themselves to be seduced into believing that those they follow have their best interests at heart. At a base level, the leaders of every movement in this country, be they conservative, liberal, independent, you name it, are basically full of crap. Their goal is to seduce as many followers as they can. I offer as proof the lack of original thought or opinion in any of these groups. Isn't it strange how neighbors rarely know or care about the political affiliation of their other neighbors, yet they all generally get along just fine? That is until an outside "seducer" convinces them that they have problems with their fellow neighbors. Suddenly what once was a peaceful neighborhood turns into a hate factory. The first step The Seducers take is making us believe we only thought we were all getting along, and only thought we liked each other. You will also find that The Seducers never offer proof or examples of the threat they claim your once friendly neighbors now present. When we allow ourselves to be seduced, all sorts of bad things happen; and while we are blaming those things on the people The Seducers say we should be blaming them on, The Seducers are having one hell of a good time at our expense.

Epilogue:A conservative Seducer, a liberal Seducer, and an independent Seducer walk into a bar. The bartender says to them, " Good evening, Gentlemen; what do you want? "The liberal Seducer says, " I want you to demand a raise. If you don't get it, I want you to quit your job."The conservative Seducer says, " I want you to fire a few people so you can lower the price of your drinks."The independent Seducer says, " I want you to demand a raise, hire more people, and lower the price of your drinks."The bartender says, " Sorry guys; I can't do any of those things, but I can get you all a drink." The Seducers look at each other and one of them says, " The service here stinks. Let's go somewhere where they appreciate our business." - George-

Monday, January 23, 2006

To CD Or Not To CD, That Is The Question:

From : GEORGE CORNELIUSSEN Sent : Friday, January 13, 2006 9:56 AM

America, prepare to have your day ruined:

Associated Press January 11, 2006: "Do Burned CDs Have a Short Life Span?" Optical discs may not be your best bet for storing digital media long term,experts says. John Blau, IDG News Service Tuesday,January 10, 2006. Opinions vary on how to preserve data on digital storagemedia,such as optical CDs and DVDs. Kurt Gerecke, a physicistand storage expert at IBM Deutschland, has his own view: ifyou want to avoid having to burn new CDs every few years , usemagnetic tape to store all your pictures,videos and songs fora lifetime."Unlike pressed original CDs, burned CDs have a relativelyshort life span of between two and five years, depending onthe quality of the CD," Gerecke says. " There are a few thingsyou can do to extend the life of a burned CD, like keeping thedisc in a cool, dark space, but not a whole lot more."The problem is material degradation. Optical discs commonlyused for birning, such asCD-R and CD-RW, have a recording surface consisting of a layerof dye that can be modified by heat to store data. Thedegradation process can result in the data"shifting"on the surface and thus becoming unreadable to thelaser beam."many of the cheap burnable CDs available at discount storeshave a life span of around two years," Gerecke says. "Some ofthe better-quality discs offer a longer life span, of amaximum of five years."Distinguishing high-quality burnable CDs from low-qualitydiscs is difficult, he says, because few vendors use life spanas a selling point.Similar Limitations:Hard-drive disks also have their limitations, according toGerecke. The problem with hard drives, he says, is not so muchthe disk itself as it is the disk bearing, which has apositioning function similar to a ball bearing. " If the harddrive uses an inexpensive disk bearing, that bearing will wearout faster than a more expensive one," he says. Hisrecommendation: a hard-drive disk with 7200 revolutions perminute.To overcome the preservation limitations of burnable CDs,Gerecke suggests using magnetic tapes, which he claims, canhave a life span of 30 years to 100 years, depending on theirquality. " Even if magnetic tapes a re also subject todegradation, they're still the superior storage media," hesays.But he's quick to point out that no storage medium lastsforever and, consequently, consumers and business alike needto have a migration plan to new storage technologies."Companies, in particular, need to be constantly looking atnew storage technologies and have an archiving stratedgy thatallows them to automatically migrate to new technologies," hesays. " Otherwise, they're going to wind up in a dead-end. Andfor those sitting on terabytes of crucial data, that could bea colossal problem."

As someone who's been burning CDs for a long time, I'm afraidI have to agree with the good doctor. Some of the CDs Iburned more than two years ago no longer play. I had no ideathat the CDs themselves were the problem, I always thought itwas the fact that newer CD players wouldn't play older CDs.Recently, I passed up the chance to buy a recording studioquality cassette tape recorder for less than $40. I felt itwas obsolete technology. I'm kickin' myself in the rear now.-George-

Saturday, January 21, 2006

By Jove Holmes !Thu, 16 Jan 2003 07:57 AMI remember watching an old Sherlock Holmes movie years ago. At theend of the movie when Watson asked him how he knew the suspect wasguilty Holmes said;" Elementary my dear Watson, his silence when questioned about thecrime gave him away."If you accidentally ( or intentionally ) erase this e-mail fromyour computer and want to retrieve it at some future date there's agood chance you can, even if you re-format your hard drive in themeantime.I just finished reading a story about how much information remainson your hard drive no matter what you do to it.The story was about these two guys who started a small businessreselling used hard drives. They bought 158 of them from eBay andused computer stores. 129 of the hard drives still worked, of those69 still had recoverable records on them.The files covered everything from medical and financial records ,to love letters and porno.The story went on to say that none of the conventional methods oferasing a hard drives work 100%. Even if you pay an "expert" to doit there is no guarntee.What was really interesting was the statement that none of this isunknown to the manufacturers of computers, they simply never talkabout it.Kind of makes the old "Why ?" question pop up, don't it ?To my knowledge there are no instructions that come with any newcomputer that help you clean your hard drive, or any mention of thepotential dangers that failing to do it might cause.Why would that be ? The story I read tells of the state ofPennsylvania selling used computers, and a local reseller retrievingfiles on state employees. An Arizona pharmacy sold hard drivescontaining 2,000 customer files.Did you know that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the rightto privacy does NOT apply to items that are discarded. If you sellor throw something away it's up for grabs.There is software on the market that does what they call"squeezing" your hard drive, that is it writes over the entire drivewith basically nothing. You have to find it yourself, none of themanufacturers sell it with a new computer. Why ?Judging from this story the nations highest security risk ( as wellas your's and mine ) is probably not the boarders of this country,but the garbage dumps and thrift stores, and our old friend eBay.Are ya like me ? Do you find the industry's silence on this mattersuspicious .

Thursday, January 19, 2006

What Do You Mean By That ?Mon, 20 Jan 2003 7:16 AM: Ever notice how it's getting harder and harder to understandclearly what someone on television or the radio is saying ?Maybe that's because we've combined too many words and lumped themtogether in such a way that most of the time the person speaking isthe only one who knows exactly what they are trying to say.What's that you say ? My message is not clear ?O.K.,here's an example. Take the words "cheap" and "inexpensive"to most of us they mean the same thing.Maybe they do;maybe theydon't.The dictionary defines "cheap" as : costing little;it alsodescribes it as:of little value.These two definitons could cause confusion depending on how theywere used.(If you bought a Mercedes for $1500 it would cost little,but notnecessarily be of little value.)The dictionary also defines the word "inexpensive" as: notexpensive,cheap,low priced.Please note that the definition of "inexpensive" includes the word"cheap". Ah,but which definition of the word "cheap" ?( Now that $1500 Mercedes "might" cost little,or it "might " be oflittle value.)In that same dictionary the word "might" is referred to as : thepast tense of "may",and (hold onto your hats) "may" is referredto as:the past tense of "might".Head spinning yet ? Sorry I tried to make this as "clear" aspossible.clear: 1a. not cloudy, misty, or hazy;bright;light.Ex. a clear day. A clear sky is free of clouds.b. bright,lustrous; shining.c. serene; calm.Ex. His brow grew clear as the blue sky above him(Bulwer-Lytton)2. easy to see through; transparent.Ex. clear glass.3. having a pure, even color.Ex. a clear blue.4. easily seen, heard, or understood; not confused;plain; distinct.Ex. a clear voice; (Figurative.) a clear idea, a cleartext. He gave a clear account of the accident.(SYN) evident, obvious, manifest apparent,patent.5. free from blemishes.Ex. Healthy babies have clear skin.6. sure; certain.Ex. It is clear that it is going to rain. ( Figurative.)I am clear in my own mind that I should give up the plan.7. not blocked or obstructed; open.Ex. There is a clear view of the sea from the hill.8. not touching; not being caught.Ex. The ship was clear of the iceberg.9. (Figurative.) free from blame or guilt; innocent.Ex. a clear conscience. The police thought the man was athief, but they learned that he was clear.10. (Figurative.) free from debts or charges.Ex. He made a clear profit after taking money out to paytaxes and expenses. (SYN) net.If none of these definitons do it for you,don't worry. There are many dozens more,making "clear" clearly one of the most defined words in the dictionary.

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

Cheerios:

From : GEORGE CORNELIUSSEN Originally sent : Monday, May 24, 2004 9:19 AM Next month, one of our favorite breakfast buddy's turns 63.On June 19th 1941 the world was introduced to Cheerios. Hereare some fun facts :

* Cheerios were originally called Cheeri Oats.* In their first year 1.8 million boxes were sold.* They are puffed up by being shot through heat cannons.* Each Cheerios measures 1/2 inch in diameter, and weighs.0025 ounces.* 1n 1945 the name was changed to Cheerios ( because of aconflict with another oat breakfast cereal, Quaker Oats ).* Cheerios claims to be the first ready to eat cereal.* 1960 was the first year the "Toasted Oat Cereal" slogan wasused.* 1979 Honey Nut Cheerios were introduced.And now the most obscure bit of Cheeios trivia you'll find:Cheeri Oats ( aka Cheerios ) were invented by James Evans agraduate of Central Missouri State College. Other CMSU gradsinclude Dale Carnegie, and Carry Nation.A bit of world trivia, as it relates to Cheerios:On the same day General Mills was introducing Cherri Oats( June 19th 1941 ) Germany and Italy expelled the United StatesEmbassies from their countries.

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Virtual Whittling Anyone ? ( from: Sat. March,15,2003 )Ever see one of those old westerns were a couple of old coots are sitting in the general store with their feet up on a big barrel while they whittle and swap stories? Be honest, no matter how good the movie is, the characters we really envy are those guys.How about the Internet as the general store, and our keyboards as the barrel? A friend of mine e-mailed a story to me.A story you may be aware of. I'll condense it, but it pretty much goes as follows:"A lawyer buys a box of expensive cigars, and insures them against loss by fire. He smokes them, then submits a claim to the insurance company for $15,000. The company refuses to pay, so the lawyer takes them to court.The judge says that since the policy does not exclude any type of fire, the insurance company must pay the lawyer.As soon as the lawyer cashes the check, the insurance company has him arrested for arson. The judge finds him guilty, and sentences him to two years in jail and a $24,000 fine."The story is reported to be true, and the winner of first prize in the Criminal Lawyers Award Contest.When I first recieved the e-mail I felt great! What was not to like about this story? It united all of us in a common cause, lawyers getting whacked.After a few days, my "too good to be true" gene got the best of me, so I typed "Criminal Lawyers Award Contest" into Google and hit search. 19 pages came up.Some claimed the story to be true, but most said it was a new version of an old urban legend. The fun fact was that the pages that offered information on the contest required you to fill out forms with personal information before you could proceed ( I did not).How much do you want to bet that some Internet carpetbagger realized just how strong our urge to put our feet up on the barrel and whittle was ?We toss off personal information so freely, why not throw some around in exchange for a good "lawyer gets screwed story"?He simply came up with a story anyone of us would sit at the general store all day for,just waiting for someone to walk in so we could tell it to them. The ironic thing is that it would probably take a lawyer to get him or herself out of the mess they got into once they filled in their personal information and went fishing for the "lawyer gets screwed story" .

Wednesday, January 11, 2006

Laughing At The Boogie-Man : from : Saturday, Oct. 11, 2003

Don't underestimate the power of laughter as a weapon against all things scary. Holloween is coming up. If you think about it, Halloween's main function may be as a testament to how we defeat fear with laughter. Who hasn't had a bout with being afraid of the dark, or the boogie-man as a child? I remember, being about five or six and having to turn the light out and make a mad dash for the safety of my bed (a full six feet away), and the covers I threw over my head. Somewhere along the line I got over that fear. I guess to prove to myself that I did get over it ,to this day I chuckle when I think of how sure I was that "something" was going to get me somewhere between the light switch and the six feet to my bed. Isn't that what we do with Halloween? To prove that the boogie-man(boogie-person?) never was real we all have one grand old laugh-fest at Halloween. Now, think about the new age boogie-man, that would be the world we live in. In the old days people used to sit around the campfire and tell scary stories at night. Today we have the news media, and the political world all trying to outdo each other every night with scary stories. Ever heard the old saying, "Nothing new under the sun"? It turns out that the press and the political world have been trying to tell us scary stories since day one of the civilized world. The difference seems to be that in the past they used a healthy dose of humor to keep the scary stories from taking over. The following quotes tell part of the story:

From Thomas Jefferson:* Banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies.* The advertisement is the most truthful part of a newspaper* The man who reads nothing at all is better educated than the man who reads nothing but newspapers.

From Ben Hecht (author/philosopher 1893-1964):* Trying to determine what is going on in the world by reading newspapers is like trying to tell time by watching the second hand of a clock.

From G.K. Chesterson (poet/journalist 1874-1936):* Journalism largely consists of saying, "Lord Jones is dead" to people who never knew Lord Jones was alive.

From Richard Nixon (former president of the United States):* I am not a crook.

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

From: Wednesday, April 9, 2003" It Ain't Over Till It's Over "If you believe in reincarnation, there's a good chance that Yogi Berra might have been General E.R.S. Canby or General St. John R. Liddell in a past life. Yogi's most famous quote, "It ain't over till it's over." was made during the 1973 National League play-offs, while he was the manager of the New York Mets. Maybe he was just remembering something from a long time ago. Today is April 9th, ring a bell? Maybe something from a history class when you were a kid ? Today is the 138th anniversary of the end of the Civil War. On April 9th, 1865 General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Grant at the Appomattox court house. This brought an end to the internal fighting that tore our country apart. That's what the history books tell us anyway. You see, in 1865 there were no cell phones or cable news networks, and news tended to travel rather slowly. Several hours after the end of the Civil War on paper, in a place called Baldwin County the last battle of the war was being fought. General E.R.S. Canby of the North led his troops against General St. R. Liddell of the South. An estimated 3529 men died after the war offically ended. On April 11th 1865 General Canby's regiment was returning to their base for further orders when a courier intercepted them and delivered the news that the war was over. So did the Civil War end on April 9th 1865, or April 11th 1865 ? When was it over ?

Tuesday, January 03, 2006

13 Miners Trapped In West Virginia Coal Mine:Just before dawn on Monday January 1st, an explosion trapped 13 miners in a cave-in caused by an explosion at the Sago coal mine in Tallmansville, West Virginia.As of this writing hope is slim for their survival due to high levels of carbon monoxide found in the mine.Both my wife's grandfather and my grandfather were coal miners;they were great examples of human beings.In 1994 the country group Diamond Rio recorded a song that my wife has played on and off for years. these are the lyrics to that song:

Kentucky Mine:His eyes are greener than the meadowsHis hair is greyer than a ghostHis lungs are blacker than the shadowsThat dance in circles down belowYou see them every Monday morningElectric halos light their wayFive days of widows mourningBut Friday rolls the stone awayKentucky mine, doing timeNever see the light of dayKentucky mine, stand in lineJust to dig your own graveFrom coal dust they make a livingTo coal dust they will returnThe earth is good but unforgivingAnd someone's got to keep the fire burnin'Daddy says, "Listen to me, Do not follow where my footsteps lead"Kentucky mine, doing timeNever see the light of dayKentucky mine, stand in lineJust to dig your own graveAnd everything he said was trueBut what's a Kentucky boy to do?Kentucky mine, doing timeNever see the light of dayKentucky mine, stand in lineJust to dig your own graveMy wife's grandfather was a miner in Indiana. My grandfather was a miner in Pennsylvania. They never met each other, yet they were brothers and Diamond Rio's song was written for them, even though they both died decades before it was written. I don't know any of the men trapped in the Sago mine, but they are all related to our grandfathers and Diamond Rio's song was written for them as well.